John Titta Named ASCAP Executive Vice President, Creative Services

John Titta

New York, NY, October 2, 2013: ASCAP CEO John LoFrumento has announced the appointment of John Titta to Executive Vice President, Creative Services, effective today. Reporting directly to LoFrumento, Titta will be responsible for overseeing the membership staff in all musical genres and will also oversee the operations of the Los Angeles, New York and Nashville membership offices.

LoFrumento commented: “John Titta is truly an outstanding music industry leader with a long list of diverse accomplishments and a wealth of experience running a creative operation. Throughout his career, he has been an advisor, partner, friend and advocate of songwriters which make him a perfect fit for ASCAP. His strong relationships with a variety of members of the music community developed over years, coupled with deep understanding of the professional needs of our members, will strengthen our already impressive membership team. Under John’s leadership, I’m confident that ASCAP members will continue to receive the very highest standard of service and support.”

Added Titta: “ASCAP plays such an important role in the lives of its songwriters, composers and publishers. I’ve always been impressed by the innovations ASCAP has introduced to better serve its members both creatively and to protect the health of the profession as a whole. I am thrilled to be joining the leadership team at ASCAP at a time when I believe we will make a real difference in building a strong future for music creators. And, of course, I’m excited about working with so many of the greatest songwriters in the world as well as working with the membership staff in developing great new talent.”

John Titta joins ASCAP after serving as CEO of MPCA Music Publishing, a company he founded in 2006. Titta spent the majority of his music career as a music publisher, but he started his life in music as a musician and music teacher. As a session musician, he has played on many recording sessions for nationwide TV and radio advertisements and has performed live with many groups. He has performed on albums by Ringo Starr, Gizelle D'Cole and Gregory Abbott. Titta began his publishing career in 1985 with Screen Gems/EMI Music, where he worked with legendary songwriters Carole King and Lou Reed. From there, Titta moved to PolyGram Music Publishing as Vice President of A&R in 1988, signing artists Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Pearl Jam, Brian McKnight, k.d. lang, Billy Ray Cyrus and songwriter Jimmy Webb. And from 1993–2006, John served as Senior Vice President/General Manager of Warner Chappell Music in New York. As head of Warner/Chappell's East Coast operations, he signed such acts as Trey Songz, Fat Joe, Missy Elliott, Kid Rock, Collective Soul, India.Arie, Gavin DeGraw, Cassandra Wilson, Dan Wilson (Adele, Dixie Chicks, Semisonic), Uncle Kracker, Shaggy, Duane Eddy, Bruce Hornsby and James Brown. He also scored success with individual hits such as the Grammy Award-winning "Smooth" by Santana, "Cry Me a River" by Justin Timberlake, "Lean Back" by Terror Squad, "Waiting for Tonight" by Jennifer Lopez, "One of Us" by Joan Osborne, "I Love You Always Forever" by Donna Lewis and "Pon de Replay" by Rihanna. Titta's recent accomplishments include his work with Bon Jovi keyboardist David Bryan on the Tony Award-winning musical Memphis, songs recorded by John Mayer, Bob Dylan, Cyndi Lauper, M Ward and A&R work on albums by Dionne Warwick, Todd Rundgren, Melinda Doolittle and Donny & Marie Osmond. He proudly serves on the Board of Directors for The Songwriters Hall of Fame.

About ASCAPThe American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is a professional membership organization of songwriters, composers and music publishers of every kind of music. ASCAP’s mission is to license and promote the music of its members and foreign affiliates, obtain fair compensation for the public performance of their works and to distribute the royalties that it collects based upon those performances. ASCAP members write the world’s best-loved music and ASCAP has pioneered the efficient licensing of that music to hundreds of thousands of enterprises who use it to add value to their business – from bars, restaurants and retail, to radio, TV and cable, to Internet, mobile services and more. The ASCAP license offers an efficient solution for businesses to legally perform ASCAP music while respecting the right of songwriters and composers to be paid fairly. With over 470,000 members representing more than 8.5 million copyrighted works, ASCAP is the worldwide leader in performance royalties, service and advocacy for songwriters and composers, and the only American performing rights organization (PRO) owned and governed by its writer and publisher members. www.ascap.com